Butternut Squash Soup

John's parents had a large squash crop this year and sent us home with a couple last time we visited. While trying to find a recipe (or two or three) to take advantage of our butternut squash, I found this recipe at allrecipes.com. While this recipe was a success, it only used one of our squash, so stay tuned for more squash recipes to come!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients
6 Tablespoons onion, chopped
4 Tablespoons margarine
6 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
3 cups water
4 cubes chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (we used chili powder)
2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese (we used only 5oz)

Directions
In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook for 20 minutes or until squash is tender.

Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender until smooth. Return to pan to heat through, if needed, but do not boil.

Amanda's Analysis:
I was a little skeptical about this soup, but it was really good! It's a nice, thick soup and great for a cool fall meal. I don't think I would add more cream cheese, it was just fine as is, but I did season mine with a little more black pepper. This was also great reheated for lunch the next day. I definitely hope to make this (or have John make this) again! I give this soup 6 spoons.

John's Jibba-Jabba:
I was very sure that this soup would be great and I was right on the money. Other than preparing the squash this recipe was very easy. It was also fun to try a new and interesting spice (marjoram). The flavors in this soup really came together well and made for a satisfying meal. I think next time I would use real chicken broth and not the bouillon cubes to help cut down on the salt content a bit. Overall this soup gets 6 spoons.